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Rondstat

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-Goblins shocked on entry to Yu'Biusk, Bandos claims Zanik's fault, Chosen Commander supposed to lead to paradise, it has fallen because she rejected destiny
Goblins believe Yu'Biusk is a verdant heaven, which the quest seemed to forget.

-Bandos on throne suspended over arena on ropes, large wound in chest constantly leaking anima. He is constantly coughing, hunched, ill

-Zanik joins us for final fight, coaching us on kyzaj use and occasionally stunning Graardor (he only attacks player, the bigger threat)

-On our victory, Bandos concedes, while wheezing, seeming to be gasping his final breaths 'I suppose you truly are my chosen com-' kyzaj through chest, Zarador has killed him. He declares zanik responsible for refuting Bandos' gift, draining his power from afar like a coward, culpable for his death.

-ZANIK'S AWESOME DEATH SCENE: Zarador slams down kyzaj onto arena with new god strength, rock splits in two and Zanik reaches towards player as her piece sinks into the wastes. She sees Bandos' petrified remains in his throne, promises she won't let him become martyr, fires one last bolt at platform supports, causing Bandos to tumble into waste. Her expression is serene as she and the helm of Bandos simultaneously slip beneath the surface
cos the player killing her is just moronic

-Zarador gives speech (similar to Zanik's), intends to lead bandosians on Yu'biusk, prove their strength against the elements, reclaim promised land. We'll be allowed to leave unharmed, as we've shown ourselves a warrior, but an entire army stands ready to cut us down if we attempt retaliation

Heart of Stone
The biggest issues here are the knowledge gap, and that the chambers/mouthpieces feel tiny, underwhelming, and generic for representing the creators of the universe. I'd see them more unique, varied, couched in existing world.

03-Jan-2017 12:26:56

Rondstat

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-Ariane and Kipple don't have any knowledge of the Elder gods - it is all discovered by player over course of quest

-Mouthpiece dialogue more cryptic, alien, with less direct engagement with player

-Bik's mouthpiece in (new) sub-basement of Tower of Life. Use puzzle redirecting anima flows (like Wen's puzzle) to open door, leads to featureless expanse with coloured waterfalls; one of which speaks to us
A spring of unknown origin beneath the Tower of Life allowed the Alchemists to create life ~something reserved for Elders. This can explain it.

-Ful's mouthpiece is TokHaar-Hok. Puts us through battery of combat before speaking to us of Ful

-Wen's mouthpiece is Oracle - long riddle puzzle to activate

-After finding Jas 'location', there is no portal or means of entry. But, next time we try to teleport, redirected to primordial realm, with sporadically appearing Voice of Jas (like in Endgame) in centre. Chronicles drift around the arena. We use these (instead of dumb bookcases) to complete memory puzzle
The Primordial Realm, composed of the Sacred Clay from which the Elders shaped the world

Dishonour Among Thieves
Probably the worst offender in the 'mundane gods' category, Zamorak is reduced to a generic questgiver with all the personality and scintillating insight of a man (level:2). It also fails as a heist sendup, which ought to showcase the characters and unique conflicts/relationships of its team. I'd minimize Zamorak, and remove most Mahjarrat (who end up feeling cheap).

-Moia is threatening Relomia; her master stole something important (alludes to shard of Zaros) from Zamorak, and she knows he was just here. Suddenly, Dragonkin appear, residents scatter, Moia manages to hide us (after we outrun Kin flame) as the Kin trash Draynor amidst shouts that a False User is near
Can't forget the Kin's promise from RotM, can we?

03-Jan-2017 12:48:25

Rondstat

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-Moia takes us into confidence: She and Zamorak both sensed power, that of a Mahjarrat combined with the SoJ. Zammy knows from his own ascension, she from her father. The Kins' cries seem to confirm it - Sliske has Stone of Jas. But, the Kin do not seem much more powerful than their last appearance; Sliske must be smart enough not to abuse it. We must steal SoJ before Sliske can wreak havoc on world
MPD disrespected much of the pomp and prophecy from RotM, in terms of SoJ and Kin storylines. This tries to restore that, and eliminates Sliske's dumb appearance at the top of the quest.

-By tracking down last known location, may be able to determine where Stone was taken. We get value for SoJ translocation cipher from Tiffy, but value from Thaerisk permanently lost. Recruit team to help us locate SoJ: Movario (SoJ expert), Viggora (shadow realm expert), Malak (muscle), a runic magic expert (Dakh'thoulan Aegis? Tam McGrubor?), a necromancy expert (Morwenna? Malignius?)
Movario should never have been excluded, and Malak has compelling story potential. I preferred the original narrative, where distrust built after Mahjarrat failed to aid Zammy in the Battle of Lumbridge.

-Focus on relationships and individual members. Movario as Heisenberg-like figure, scholar horrified by what his research has unleashed in the Kin and Lucien, timid to move forward. Malak as traitor trying to redeem self, most powerful but least trusted. Viggora as grizzled veteran who's given all, known only horror. Moia coming to terms with identity, lived life being told she's worthless, now on first mission as sole leader and after failure of BoL is desperate to prove self and refute abuse she lived with so long.

03-Jan-2017 13:09:07

Rondstat

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-Discover last location seems to be deep below Trollheim (accessed from Fremennik slayer dungeon). When we can go no further Moia calls on her master, Bilrach ceremoniously steps through portal, opens hidden resource dungeon - forgotten, abandoned, and crumbling
As the first 'real' appearance of one of the most intriguing lore characters, Bilrach deserved more pomp to his reveal, rather than just a dude standing around.

-Excavate dilapidated dungeon, solve puzzles, fight slayer critters, etc.

-At the last, Movario is confused - his signals are too strong, the Stone still seems to be here. A huge army of wights suddenly attacks, Moia commands player to move forward while the rest of the team holds off Sliske's forces

-We find and touch the SoJ, half embedded in the earth, get flashback cutscene. Decaying corpse of Lucien appears as boss fight of quest. On defeat, Sliske steps out of shadows explains that the corpse is still riddled with Catalyst's energies - but it's just a soulless puppet, not a true wight. It fooled Zamorak, deceived the Kin in Draynor, and now led him to us and the Stone. Sliske takes SoJ, and says if Zammy wants it, all he must do is win the game
Lucien's corpse mysteriously disappeared at the end of RotM. This resolves the mystery and gives a more plausible scenario for Sliske acquiring the Stone - and of course, lays blame at the player's feet.

03-Jan-2017 13:17:54

Rondstat

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Hero's Welcome
The Dragonkin are an ancient threat of unimaginable potential. They should remain unknowable, uncombattable, their germ unfathomable. V was one of the biggest and least explored mysteries from WGS, and our key to understanding runecrafting - central to the world of Runescape and the SoJ's magics. Keep him a sage, rather than a god, and hold the Kin - or at least the Necrosyrtes - above individual conflict, accessibility, or anything even hinting at relatability.

-Dragonkin are colder, more hostile. They act collectively, usually don't deign to acknowledge mortals, and NEVER use the second person

-Quest starts with trouble at zmi altar - it has run out of energy, and the (disguised) Tower mage fear others will soon follow. We should consult Wizard Finix
This plays on the threat of finite rune energy introduced with the Runespan.

-Finix has observed erratic behavior in some altars, advises us to take magic samples, bring them to his mentor, Elriss. She reluctantly admits that she can detect traces of the same magical signature she's been studying clandestinely with help of a colleague and distant relative - Baba Yaga. Her people knew runecrafting long before discovered on mainland, we should consult her

-Baba Yaga recognizes some deep disturbance on elemental plane, and explains: magical energy in rc altars is so dense, with just a little nudging, it will collapse into itself like a blackhole, forming a pocket dimension of the elemental plane and absorbing like energy from Gielinor into itself. It would be dangerous to do this with Ourania Altar cos it uses multiple energy types, could be insanely chaotic and unstable; but this is the only way to access the disturbance and determine what's going on. We return to ZMI altar, she collapses the dimension around us
Somewhat contradictory explanations are given in the Moonclan Manual, Wizards v Barbarians case, and RC Guild. This attempts to resolve them.

03-Jan-2017 20:40:13 - Last edited on 04-Jan-2017 05:48:03 by Rondstat

Rondstat

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-We enter a swirling plane and avoid its large, aggressive spellwisps. Tarshak has (mortal) V captive, and is using Elder Mirror to channel energy from nodes all around. We distract Tarshak, V kicks Mirror out of his hands, and teleports away with us as the violently unstable pocket dimension explodes
V as a Fremennik hero makes zero sense. A more fitting intro.

-V is a scholar who's explored elemental plane in unending quest to understand runic magic, the nature of the SoJ, how Guthix used it, and he's remained in a timeless state in this dimension; he's shocked to learn millenia have passed. Tarshak captured him, used his knowledge to drain power directly from plane, aiming at godhood. As a god, he will detonate the elemental plane and attempt to purge Gielinor of life, to ensure no one else can ever become a False User and cause him suffering
High stakes have been missing from the Kin. While it's hard to write them as an unstoppable natural force within the framework of existing quests, something like this could at least restore the global threat.

-The rest of the quest proceeds more or less same as it did from the death of V, except V replaces the Dragonkin anytime they would speak to us directly or not act overtly hostile
The Kin should not be our buddies. They should not collaborate with a Stone Toucher under any but the most dire situations. V, as a scholar, could rectify this.

-No first stage battle, no charm of overwhelming plot convenience. V hatches a plan to manipulate rc altars, turn Tarshak into very low level god while depriving him of energy. We lure Tarshak to Astral altar, collapse it, he mutates, and escapes to be faced in final encounter, leaving Mirror behind.
Taking creative advantage of World Guardian status.

-We defeat Tarshak with Mirror, but Kerapac takes it from us. Strisath replaced with Sithaph. Postquest, V remains on Lunar Isle, researching Tarshak's manipulation of raw runic energy

03-Jan-2017 20:59:29 - Last edited on 04-Jan-2017 01:38:00 by Rondstat

Rondstat

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The Light Within
The greatest beauty of Seren's story was its tragedy and hopelessness, that her love inherently destroyed all she cared for, even when she forged relationships outside of the destructive ones she knew. Only by sacrificing absolutely everything could she make it right. TLW cheapened that, so I would restore Seren's despair, her desire to die out of love for those close to her, her shock and emotion juxtaposed with alien views and behavior.

-no enchanted key, no time travel, no Guthix, no Baxtorian
Time travel is cheap, and these two were wasted in a quest of this scope.

-On revival, Seren horrified to wake surrounded by her elves, whom she sacrificed everything in order to protect from herself, her great love Guthix, for whom she destroyed herself, dead, and massing gods drawn into war just as before her shattering. She breaks down screaming, upper floor of Tower of Voices fractures, left ruined, before she desperately teleports away

Nomad's Elegy

-At end, heroes convene out of earshot to discuss Nomad's fate. disturbed by sudden laughter, they turn just in time to see Sliske teleport out with Nomad
Sliske's appearance feels tiresome and cartoonish - better not to give him a chance to speak.

Children of Mah
Gods interacting with Mahjarrat is fine, but I'd lessen their direct interaction with us.

-Overall more aloof, remote, and alien character to Seren/Zaros

-No Zaros or Zamorak in first part of quest. Their offers are dispensed by late arrivals Azzanadra and Hazeel (his introduction)

-No Seren dialogue at lava falls, but crystalline seren can be visible, then vanish on a nearby cliff

-Seren not present near Mah. Instead, we investigate Mah's body to get transported within her mind, where Seren is waiting for us, and explains the situation

03-Jan-2017 21:10:59

Rondstat

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Sliske's Endgame

-After we respond to Relomia's summons, there's a cutscene: massive earthquake, natural disasters, roar of Dragonkin as they glide over Draynor, heading east

-We follow a path of destruction, fires, and terrified citizens to the Heart, where sand and rocks float suspended in air (like near Sword of Edicts) and a gigantic glowing SoJ-hexagon pattern covers ground

-Zamorak, Saradomin, Armadyl are investigating. Sara accuses Zammy of trying to enact a second Forinthry, being reckless and evil. Arma reminds them of Sliske's competition, that Sliske wants mindless war. Zamorak says he will gladly slay either to keep them from the SoJ, and he knows they'd do the same - as they have in the past. The eclipse comes and the Dragonkin suddenly appear, cryptically mentioning the promised gathering of false users. One tries to attack us before an unseen Kerapac intervenes, saying we have some use. Vorago emerges in answer to the anima mundi crying out. Avoidance puzzle, flee kinfire, move between magic shields intermittently maintained by gods, help Vorago attract their attention to tank their attacks - replacing Nomad fight
Acting as Sliske's gofer feels frustrating - I'd much rather a massive event the gods can't ignore. Repeating the same Nomad fight seems unsatisfying, and we never got to see that grand Dragonkin attack on the False Users.

-Just as we're about to be incinerated, player and all gods are transported into shadow realm, where Sliske announces terms of game. A grieving Seren arrives, distraught because of her link to the anima mundi - she felt a cry like at the end of the God Wars, begs Sliske to stop the madness. Zaros appears, demands SoJ be handed over; Sliske is a child, time to put away toys. Sliske taunts him to enact control, steal the secret of its location directly from within his mind, knowing he can't. Zaros and Seren must play

03-Jan-2017 21:32:00

Rondstat

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-Put the emphasis on showing gods' characters, how they react to situations, and less on re-establishing the relationships we already know. And, no entourages - gods are solo.

>Sara as a 'white man's burden' colonialist. He's genuinely dismayed others don't understand his superiority, his sacrifice, how it benefits all to submit to his guidance

>Arma as self doubting, self loathing, easily manipulated yet helplessly self aware; wants to be better but keeps making decisions he knows, but can't admit, are wrong

>Zammy as straightforward and callous; he does what's in the interest of self and follower, with no patience for others - ends always justify means

>Seren as personification of anima mundi (figurative if not literal), distraught

>Zaros as ineffable force, betraying no emotion, sharing no plans, making simple demands and expecting them to be executed

-First cutscene is always Zamorak confronting Armadyl; they are strong, forged on broken worlds, while Sara is frail old man, Zaros and Seren have never known mortality; together, they have strength to rise from chaos. Arma violently rejects offer, but Zammy points out their win is doom for aviantese - what would Seren or Sara care for those who aren't their faithful? What place do Aviantese have in Zaros' fate beyond vivisection? They've already suffered so much in the absence of a god who abandoned them. Arma steps up. He's always preached justice and peace, but part of it rang false, because he's spent centuries dreaming of ripping Zammy limb from limb, destroy every iota of his being, with his only pause being that, once killed, he couldn't destroy Zammy again. If only he could get close to Zamorak again. Zammy taunts him, 'well, here I am,' and Armadyl, defeated, agrees to cooperate with him
The demonic pact forms the crux of CoM, and it's a bit of a letdown not to see it come into play. This sets it up for later while highlighting Arma's weakness.

03-Jan-2017 21:58:38 - Last edited on 03-Jan-2017 22:35:07 by Rondstat

Rondstat

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-If Sara wins, Arma and Zammy attack him together, and Zamorak progresses to end of maze. If Arma wins, Zammy appears behind him, and Arma attempts to renege on their agreement, hurling invective and growing a backbone, taking this and his defeat of Badnos as vindication of his strength. Zammy stabs him and progresses

-When Kerapac (and Strisath!) arrives wielding Mirror, he seems to aim it at Sliske, but instead fires past him, revealing a circle of Kin wreathed in shadow and, finally, V. Sliske recognizes an assassination attempt and compliments Strisath on his betrayal, Kera counters that too many of their endangered race have died today because of Sliske. Sliske asks why they're targeting him, when they're in the presence of the greatest False User of all - he seizes our hand, and forces it against the SoJ

-SoJ flashback cutscene. Its creation by Jas? Enslavement of Kin? Discovery by Guthix? Destruction of Kethsi? When we revive, the gathered Kin, led by V's magic and Kerapac's staff, are channeling runic energy. Kerapac declares their freedom as the SoJ is destroyed
I love these flashbacks; it's what I was most looking forward to in Endgame. I'm not sure which would be most fitting, but it seemed a waste not to get one more in.

-Sliske fights using Staff of Armadyl, Akrisae fights alongside Barrows bros. Sliske's sudden godhood and our 'awakening' at the last phase are explained - maybe with V's help? Jas sequence mentions she's awoken due to Sliske's disturbance of anima mundi. Postquest, V provides explanatory dialogue, rather than Azzanadra.

***

Wow, why did I write so much?

Anyways, this is all just a bit of fun, me thinking what I'd change if I could give the 6th Age quests a better flow and more gravitas. I'm a little dismayed sometimes to see how so many folks want MORE, rather than less god presence. Who knows?

03-Jan-2017 22:13:27 - Last edited on 05-Jan-2017 09:51:15 by Rondstat

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Sixth Age - Criticisms

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